Alex Burns (![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} alexburns) wrote,@ 2005-06-30 20:04:00 |
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Jungian Perspectives on Terrorism
I've narrowed down my PhD topics to three choices: one will become the dissertation, the other two will become other projects (books or multimedia projects). The first concerns the 'relational' turn in Counterterrorism Studies, and the implications for the psychology of suicide bombers, terrorists, and networks. Carl Jung's Aion (1954) has been helpful, although the War on Terror has a more complex cultural matrix than Classical Greek and early Judeo-Christian sources. Monash's David Wright-Neville commented to me recently that Jungian scholars have done some of the most interesting work on the post-September 11 'politics of fear'. A couple of quick Web links:
∙ 'On the Apollo vs Dionysian Conflict' (Malcolm Wm Timbers): Timbers notes the 'messianic' nature of religions and how charismatic individuals can 'awaken' archetypes in followers. "A terrorist is an individual who is in a state of possession by an unconscious factor that is reacting negatively against something that provoked it," he observes, a description which parallels Charles T. Tart's description of dreaming you are awake. "A possessed terrorist sincerely believes that his evil deeds, if not in service to the highest good, represent a necessary sacrifice against a greater evil": Timbers' comment echoes how recent terrorists---Timothy McVeigh, Ted Kaczynski, Mohammed Atta---have framed their actions in opposition to an Other which threatens to engulf the individual's identity: Great Power politics, environmental catastrophe, 'decline' narratives of Islam. "In order to understand the psychology of terrorism one must understand that the terrorist believes that his belief system represents the One and Absolute good": failure to comprehend Plato's Agathon.
∙ 'Focusing on Shadow Theory/Causes of Terrorism' (JoAnn Murphy): Murphy suggests the Western media's depiction of terrorists is partly rooted in a Shadow dynamic; that Cold War 'triumphalism' was a case of Shadow blindness, which September 11 remanifested; and that we need to collectively stop projecting and 'own' our Shadow.
∙ 'Terrorism: A Jungian View' (John Van Eenwyk): Eenwyk defines terrorism as the fusion of post-traumatic stress syndrome and the eruption of the Jungian Shadow. This definition has implications for Schema Therapy and newer, still controversial treatment modalities like Eye Movement Desensitization Routine. Eenwyk's analysis of images parallels Andrew Silke's insight on how 'contagion' violence may influence potential terrorists. Randal Marlin and Jacques Ellul have further insights on sociological propaganda as a motivational force. Finally, Eenwyk closes with advice on four strategies of dealing with the Shadow (engagement; incubating the opposites; encouraging transcendence; monitoring the unconscious for behaviours, dreams, and fate) that are worth further investigation.
I've narrowed down my PhD topics to three choices: one will become the dissertation, the other two will become other projects (books or multimedia projects). The first concerns the 'relational' turn in Counterterrorism Studies, and the implications for the psychology of suicide bombers, terrorists, and networks. Carl Jung's Aion (1954) has been helpful, although the War on Terror has a more complex cultural matrix than Classical Greek and early Judeo-Christian sources. Monash's David Wright-Neville commented to me recently that Jungian scholars have done some of the most interesting work on the post-September 11 'politics of fear'. A couple of quick Web links:
∙ 'On the Apollo vs Dionysian Conflict' (Malcolm Wm Timbers): Timbers notes the 'messianic' nature of religions and how charismatic individuals can 'awaken' archetypes in followers. "A terrorist is an individual who is in a state of possession by an unconscious factor that is reacting negatively against something that provoked it," he observes, a description which parallels Charles T. Tart's description of dreaming you are awake. "A possessed terrorist sincerely believes that his evil deeds, if not in service to the highest good, represent a necessary sacrifice against a greater evil": Timbers' comment echoes how recent terrorists---Timothy McVeigh, Ted Kaczynski, Mohammed Atta---have framed their actions in opposition to an Other which threatens to engulf the individual's identity: Great Power politics, environmental catastrophe, 'decline' narratives of Islam. "In order to understand the psychology of terrorism one must understand that the terrorist believes that his belief system represents the One and Absolute good": failure to comprehend Plato's Agathon.
∙ 'Focusing on Shadow Theory/Causes of Terrorism' (JoAnn Murphy): Murphy suggests the Western media's depiction of terrorists is partly rooted in a Shadow dynamic; that Cold War 'triumphalism' was a case of Shadow blindness, which September 11 remanifested; and that we need to collectively stop projecting and 'own' our Shadow.
∙ 'Terrorism: A Jungian View' (John Van Eenwyk): Eenwyk defines terrorism as the fusion of post-traumatic stress syndrome and the eruption of the Jungian Shadow. This definition has implications for Schema Therapy and newer, still controversial treatment modalities like Eye Movement Desensitization Routine. Eenwyk's analysis of images parallels Andrew Silke's insight on how 'contagion' violence may influence potential terrorists. Randal Marlin and Jacques Ellul have further insights on sociological propaganda as a motivational force. Finally, Eenwyk closes with advice on four strategies of dealing with the Shadow (engagement; incubating the opposites; encouraging transcendence; monitoring the unconscious for behaviours, dreams, and fate) that are worth further investigation.
